Newspaper reporter Chelsea Faust spends most of her spare time in the darkroom and runs marathons for fun. She's working for a small weekly newspaper now, but plans to move up. At 28, she lives alone and lets no one tell her what to do. When she meets Simao Freitas, a recent Portuguese immigrant, while on assignment in San Jose's Little Portugal, the attraction is instant. However, any chance at a future together appears to be doomed as Simao battles memories of a painful loss while Chelsea pursues a news story headlong into a situation that could cost her life.